Noisy video on outdoor shoot

[Stephen May]

That is cool – except I can not truly understand it really. And that gets me back to this:

In the end, what does it look like? We use our eyes to judge it, and the “white papers” can go on and on, but if it looks amazing, it’s amazing and if it looks not so good, it’s not so good. To the point that was made about the Canon D5 – who knows what part of the sensor is being used? But friends of mine at the Keystone Resort shot this on the D5:

https://www.vimeo.com/3534134

It looks great, and there’s not much noise in the blacks! And it’s true, the tech behind the EX1 is incredible, really – the compression scheme, the SxS cards, the flexibility, it’s overwhelming, but the Canon D5 shoots HD that is truly impressive, on a single sensor, that (I am told here) only uses a portion of the chip. I admit that I purposefully talk in terms of look and do not really get into the tech of it – and that’s because it’s complicated, and I’m not in it for the tech. I think a lot of us are in it to make great looking video. It’s fun, it’s art, and sometimes there’s even a really good point in it; content.

Someone sees noise in the EX1 blacks, and I see it in more than that, I can see it in general, but I’d say it’s a heck of a camera for the money, and I also appreciate it’s small size, the workflow, etc. compared to tape and weight of former cameras that only shot in SD. I’m grateful for the improvements. But because I love what looks good, I’m baffled by the look of the Canon D5. If they can do that in a still camera, why aren’t they making something like that in a full out HD camera with the XLR jacks etc.?

Stephen May
Keystone Media Productions
Freelance Videographer

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[Don Greening]

[Stephen May] “If they can do that in a still camera, why aren’t they making something like that in a full out HD camera with the XLR jacks etc.? “

I’m sure your wish will be granted soon enough. Up until now the reason only 1/3″ chips were being used in small handycam-style cameras was because of heat. CCD’s use more power and therefore generate more heat than CMOS. So now we have 1/2″ chips in a hand-held that generate the same heat as the older CCD cameras.

Onward and upward.

– Don

[Ioannis Kemen]

Hi everyone,

I think I will agree with the original poster that the picture from the EX-1 is really noisy. No disrespect to anyone, but especially in the darkest areas things don’t look too good.

I don’t have your expertise, and I am half your age as it seems, but noisy is noisy.

Maybe Mr. Stephen May is right that we became kind of greedy and demanding and since I didn’t start like him 20 or more years back but only 4-5 years ago, I can still tell when I see a noisy image.

I must confess that I am really disappointed with my EX-1 and thinking to sell it already. This is not a camera for low light conditions and natural light.

Of course as someone else has already mentioned noisy image is completely subjective. I do agree with this but within limits. A really noisy image is a really noisy image.

A friend cinematographer (cause I am not a cinematographer but a writer/director with passion for cinematography) suggested that if I’m in low light conditions and the camera ‘cannot see’ don’t be afraid to go up to +6 or +9db with this camera, it’s still gonna be OK. Well let me tell you something. It was disastrous.